A space to lay down the words behind the images. From Asia to Africa to the Americas, the portraits are made, stories are recorded and lives are represented through photography.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Two Models + Beach, Santa Maria del Mar, Cuba, Summer of 2014

Almost every other morning over the past two months we visited the beach with everyone from ballerinas to models to friends from years ago. We found it to be a place where we could work without hassle from the police, without restrictions from security guards. Here the people were free to create, to pose for the lens and to tell their stories without prying eyes… that is until families arrived a little after 8 or so in the morning. We would arrive before sunrise, set up our cameras and talk a bit before the first rays of sun hit our skin.

On this day Alejandro and Laura gifted us their presence. For the time being they model in La Habana, and attend my friend's school to improve their standing in the fashion community. We picked them up in the city and headed to the beach. We talked in advance regarding our approach, and both came prepared with clothing to contrast with their skin tones. In the beginning they were a bit shy, then they let go of themselves once we talked about positions in the abstract. These images are from the second half of our session, and all are on film awaiting processing. For the time being these are stills from the digital camera, mounted alongside the film camera and triggered at the same time with one shutter release cord.

Note: These were made with a Sony RX100M2 mounted alongside a Hasselblad analog system.www.halimina.org

About Me

Halim Antonio Ina, Jr. is born in Managua, Nicaragua on June 17th, 1968 to parents of Lebanese descent. At the age of 5 and as a result of an earthquake, his family leaves for their ancestral home and lives in Zahle, Lebanon for the next five years. At the age of 10 his family heads for the United States due to the hostilities associated with the Lebanese Civil War beginning in 1975.

From his birth through his formal university education, he adheres to the principles laid down by his upbringing, following through with his training as a dentist and establishing a dental clinic. It is when he is instructed to purchase a camera for the documentation of his professional work that his passion for the image is discovered. This, coupled with his travels to his childhood home, allows him to have access to people from his imagination. Thus the photographer is born within the professional.

He proceeds to travel around the world, documenting the people in his path as an anthropologist takes notes. It is his time in India that transforms his photography. While working with a foundation in Old Delhi, he is shown to an alley. It is in this small space that he realizes the potential for his work, it is here that he is shown its meaning.

From this point forward, he uses his photography as a tool for raising awareness. His images are displayed and printed in order to show the public the good works of the various foundations associated with his photography, in order to gain funding for the projects from which the very subjects in his portraits benefit.

He returns to each country over the years, provides subjects with their own prints from the previous visit and proceeds to make their portraits once again. The single portrait is transformed into a study over time. It is this approach that fuels his desire to continue.